We do not have to succumb to the tyranny of our own self-judgment.  We can observe our awareness, and let them go.

-Rolf Gates, Meditations from the Mat:  Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga

Day 13 – I am setting microgoals each day toward self-improvement.  I set forth to spend less money and clean up my clutter and schedule time to do so.  Two of my biggest stresses are time and money.  Therefore, I am not blogging and reflecting each day on my yogic practice in this format, and after a two years of this being somewhat of a weekday morning ritual, it is challenging for me to let go of the desire to make it happen.  Like Rolf, I find that “over time and with practice…[I] find an intimacy with the body and breath” that is akin to “the most sublime experiences of art or music” or literature.  I find this experience in crossfit and dance, except I also find community.   No less, in my teaching blog, “Irresistible Circumstances,” I reflect on many of these ideas of intimacy, flow, and community.  I strive in my microgoals to improve my countenance and spirit and that will bring a better me into the waking world (literally, because it is 5:00 a.m.).

In my experience (and maybe not in others), I link stress to time and money, which is almost impossible to do anything about at this present space in my life’s journey.  So, I look for other ways to de-stress.  One way is to sleep more; I need to get my eight hours for my health.  Another way is to declutter (which, if anyone who truly knows me and reads this, will surely elicit a snort or an eye-roll).  These are two small goals I set forth in the coming weeks, which I share here, not just because putting them down gives me “accountability,” but direction and purpose.

In fact, I have set forth these goals before and accomplished them to a lesser degree in the past; however, I share this process because it is part and parcel to my health.  Rolf describes about this understanding as we discover our place within our place, writing:  “As we take in the depth of our inner space we are brought back into intimate contact with the larger space, the moment. There is an understanding that changes us gradually and forever.  The space within us and the space around us are the same.  We are the wave and the ocean–and everything else is too.”  Isn’t it glorious, mysterious, and compelling the resilience and fragility which each of us possesses?